The LUMA Foundation was established in 2004 to support the activities of independent artists and pioneers, as well as institutions working in the fields of art and photography, publishing, documentary, and multimedia. The foundation specializes in challenging artistic projects combining a particular interest in environmental issues, human rights, education, and culture in the broadest sense.

Our current focus is to develop a truly experimental cultural center in the Parc des Ateliers in the city of Arles, France, working with the architect Frank Gehry. This ambitious project envisions an interdisciplinary center for artistic production and research, exhibitions, education, and archives.

The LUMA Arles summer program 2011 is an integral part of the evolutionary process we have undertaken to develop what we hope will become a cultural model for the early part of our century.

In addition to the 2011 LUMA Award, which had been announced by the 2010 recipient Trisha Donnelly, on Monday, July 4 at the Alyscamps, Donnelly presented a selection of films by George Kuchar projected at the Hôtel du Cloître and one of her pieces was on view at the Alyscamps throughout the summer.

The LUMA Foundation is also pleased to present a symposium titled “The Human Snapshot,” which brings together many of today’s leading thinkers to discuss the effect of the photographic image, its distribution through new media, and its impact on human rights. This academic symposium was produced by the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, NY, as a first example of possible long-term co-productions between Bard College and the LUMA Foundation.

The LUMA Foundation aims to explore crossovers between the visual arts, human rights, and the environment in the broadest sense. LUMA Foundation’s Arles Summer program is the beginning of our efforts to develop a unique discourse that develops in Arles.Arles: City of Moving Images was on view from July fourth through the twelfth. A second chapter of this installation was programmed for October in the Grande Halle at the Parc des Ateliers. That same evening, from 11:30 pm, a series of public conversations were be staged at the Alyscamps site featuring Hans Peter Feldmann, Juergen Teller, and Taryn Simon, accompanied by a slideshow.

SYMPOSIUM: THE HUMAN SNAPSHOT

July 2nd – 3rd, 2011

“The Human Snapshot” is an international conference exploring what has become of humanism and universalism in contemporary art and photography. “The Human Snapshot” examines contemporary forms of humanism and universalism as they circulate and are produced in art and photography. These values have been under conceptual assault in recent years. Yet they continue to proliferate—even through the visual arts, where humanism and universalism are customarily dismissed. The conference addressed examples such as the The Family of Man , along with its many unexpected afterlives.

The symposium on July 2nd – 3rd took place at the Alyscamps Tent, Arles. For directions, details about other summer 2011 LUMA Foundation events, and reservations for the symposium and public talks, please visit the LUMA Office at Hotel du Cloître, 13200 Arles, FRANCE, or e-mail us.

The Human Snapshot is organized by the LUMA Foundation in collaboration with the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College (CCS Bard). All sessions will be broadcast online via podcast. Please check back for details.

Award Announcement on July 4th from 11 pm. Entrance of the Alyscamps, Avenue des Alyscamps

The first edition of the LUMA Award took the form of an exhibition featuring fifteen artists, all using the medium of photography as a central part of their practice. It was presented at the 2010 Rencontres d’Arles photography festival. The winner of the 2010 award, Trisha Donnelly (selected by Peter Fischli and David Weiss), chose the recipient of the 2011 LUMA Award.

The artists nominated for this year’s award, presented in a freely distributed book, represent a focus on research, archives, and what has broadly become known as “knowledge production.” Rather than considering art as an isolated activity, they share a belief in the centrality of art and the image to an understanding of our time.